Sentry: 1-Violence & Variations

by Thomas Shaw

  "But you eventually learned?" John asked. The room was silent, listening to Laura's explanation. The music that had been playing in the background, a compilation of soft rock songs, had come to a stop but none of them had realized.

  "Yeah, I've got some control over it, just by practicing and messing around. I found out not only could I shoot out a jet of water but I could manipulate the molecules, making water in to steam and then the steam into ice. I showed one person when I was in school and they called me a freak and wanted to show the whole school. I've never been one for attention so I said she was lying and acted like I couldn't. I've kept it to myself since"

  After a pause, John looked at Sam who looked taken aback, "Look, I'm not exactly sure when but one day I was about to get mugged by a couple of guys on my way home, never thought I'd be able to hold my own but, somehow, I did. Managed to break one of the guys arms with one punch too" Sam looked to show no remorse for his actions.

  Another silence. David got out his phone and started the music again.

  "So what are you guys going to call yourselves?" John asked.

  David shook his head, "What do you mean?"

  "As in your team name and your hero names?"

  Laura waved his suggestion off, "There's those comics showing again"

  "Graphic novels" Both John and Amy said together, they laughed at their timing.

  "Whatever, but we're not having code names, are we?" Laura asked David who shrugged his shoulders.

  "Not unless DarkWatch make us. Don't even know what we'd call ourselves?"

  Amy smiled, "Well, you'd be Sparky and I'd be Hot Stuff"

  "Like our childhood superhero names? Don't think so. Team name could be anything"

  "The Z-Team?" John suggested.

  "Well that sounds stupid" Sam said with a small laugh, "Doesn't even mean anything"

  2.2

  The next morning, David woke, face down in the pillow, to the sound of his phone ringing. He checked the screen. It was someone from DarkWatch. He answered with a raspy "Morning"

  "Mr. Woods?" Said a very chipper female on the other end.

  "Yeah, what's up" He sat up in his bed and stretched. He put his phone on speakerphone and threw it on the bed.

  "This is Christine from DarkWatch, Mr. Richards has requested that you and your friends come to us immediately"

  "Fine. I'll grab some breakfast and-"

  "Mr. Richards insists you came at once" she interrupted.

  David cleared his throat, "Ok...we'll be there as soon as possible"

  David group messaged the others. He heard the ding from Sam's phone in the other room and could hear him moving about. He got dressed, same clothes as always: dark jeans, light polo shirt and black trainers. He left his room same time as Sam and they headed straight out the door. David locked up the apartment, they headed down to the underground car park and both got into his car. After a short drive, he picked up Laura and then Amy and they headed straight to DarkWatch headquarters. On arrival, they were lead into the same meeting room they had first talked to Mike Richards.

  He was already sat in the room, along with the other agent that they had met before, the hard faced one. They were sat where the team had been sitting previously, so they took the seats opposite.

  "We have a problem" Richards said once they took their seats.

  "Yeah, we're all good, thanks for asking" Sam said, leant back in his chair, arms folded. David gave him a look and Sam sat in his chair properly.

  "Sorry" David apologized for Sam, "Is this about Anthony?"

  "No, something else. A few weeks before our first meeting, an experimental 'Battle Suit' went missing from our facility" Richards explained, "After Anthony's failed attempt to make the PKs, the Peace Keeping robots, the next best thing was to create a sort of exo-skeleton or, more accurately, a battle suit, which-"

  "How does a suit like that go 'missing'?" Laura asked, cutting Richards off mid-sentence, "And, why are you bringing this up now?"

  Richards leant forward and held his hands together, "At the time, we had more pressing matters to deal with" He gestured with a nod towards them, "Now we need to deal with this"

  The other man cleared his throat, "Our field agent was out at around eight on patrol. The suit was seen, in operation, near a housing estate in-"

  "He saw it but did nothing?" Sam interjected

  "He was observing him" The man said, "Waiting to see his next move"

  "'Waiting to see his next move'?" Sam asked, "He has control of a 'Battle Suit', someone could've got hurt!"

  The man stared down Sam, "Yes, he had an experimental suit that is armed to the teeth with missile launches, two wrist mounted sub-machine guns and a few other offensive weapons. Do you think that's a person that you just apprehend? No, it looks like someone you observe from a fucking distance until you're ready to make a move!"

  "Nathan! Calm down!" Richards called out, "This has to stop. David, what has your team got against my organization?"

  David looked to the right of him, at Laura and Amy, and then back left, to Sam, "My team? I'm not their leader, you do realize that?"

  Richards looked taken aback, "I'm sorry, I didn't. You just seem to be the most 'together' at these little meetings we have"

  "Well I'm not. And as for why we have a problem; none of us are proud of our abilities" out of the corner of his eye, David could see Amy was going to interrupt him so he spoke a little louder, "So you can understand our caution when we deal with you"

  "We're not tools for you to use" Laura explained bluntly.

  "Or weapons" Sam added.

  Richards took a moment to think, "Ok. I understand. Not tools, or weapons. What about employees?" The four looked confused. Richards elaborated, "We will pay you, give you a contract, you will essentially become DarkWatch agents...but your own separate division. You will have full control of your actions, can come and go from here as you please but I will put you on an annual salary, and I might throw in a few benefits to sweeten the deal"

  David and Laura looked at each other, David gave her a 'what do you think?' look. Laura gave a small nod of approval. David looked back at Richards, "Deal"

  Richards looked extremely pleased, "I'll sort out papers today, get you in our system and organize a pay structure. Now about that suit..."

  They explained that the suit was stolen yet there were no signs of a break in so it had to be an inside job. The suit was a prototype and was to be used against any threats to the country. It was shelved when its lead designer left the company due to family problems. It was armed with a compact shoulder launched missile device, a machine gun attached to each wrist and finally the arms of the suit and pneumatic pistons to put power behind a punch. Richards wanted the suit brought back immediately before anyone got hurt.

  "Which means" Richards finished with, "You four are going to need combat training, and you're going to have to work as a team"

  Sam sat forward and was about to say something when the door behind them swung open, an Agent, dressed in the usual black suit burst in, out of breath, "Sir, the suits been spotted, walking through the city"

  Richards looked at him in alarm and then back to David and the others, "Looks like the trainings on hold"

  2.3

  A few hours later, the team arrived at the town that the suit had been spotted. They had been offered to be taken by helicopter. David had refused, much to the disappointment of Sam, as he preferred to observe the guy in the suit before they attacked. By the time they had arrived, a shopping center in the middle of the town had been shut down by the police. David parked as close as he could and approached the police tape. An officer looked over at him and his friends and was about to say something but David spoke before he could,

  "My name's David Woods and-" before he could finish, at the sound of his name, the officer lifted the police tape to let them pass. David was surprised but nodded in thanks and walked through, "That was easier than expected" Laura muttered.

&nb
sp; "The plan then?" Amy asked as they walked across in a line towards the building. They could hear cameras clicking behind them.

  No one answered her. They approached the entranceway to the shopping center and looked in. It was abandoned and quiet. There was a faint crashing sound inside the complex and the team walked in.

  They headed further and further in, the noise growing louder until they were stood outside of a computer and phone store. Stood inside, currently ripping phones and tablets from their displays was the suit. It was bulky but at the same time was armored with sleek metal plates. It seemed larger than them. It was placing the devices in a large brown sack when it stopped and looked at the team.

  It spoke, over an intercom system, "You shouldn't be here". A male voice, spoken in a very grizzled tone.

  "And it looks like your numbers up" Amy quipped, a little too excitedly. The others all looked at her and groaned. She had a stupid grin on her face, "Get it? Because he’s in a phone shop? Always wanted to make a pun like that"

  They looked back at the man the metal suit. If they didn't know it was a suit, they would’ve assume it was a robot. It was large and, not like the sleek ones seen in movies. It was obviously a prototype model. The main body of the suit was a dark silver with lighter silver colored plating over the chest, torso, arms and legs. Box shaped devices were attached to each wrist; the previously mentioned machine guns. The helmet was featureless apart from two eye holes, his eyes not visible from their distance. He dropped the bag on the floor and took a step forward. The team tensed up. David took a deep breath, "Get ready"

  The shoulder pads on the suit raised up, showing six missiles each, "Last warning. Go" He threatened.

  "Oh fuck this" Sam said. He ran inside the store, dodged the missiles that the man fired at them and went to punch him, but missed as he moved to one side. The missiles luckily flew past the other three and smashed through the windows of a clothes store behind them, detonating with small explosions. Amy, in retaliation, sent a barrage of heat at the suit and started walking in to the shop. The man once again moved away and she hit Sam instead! He shouted in pain and Amy stopped. David ran in the store to get closer to the suit and started electrocuting him. He shot back with his guns. David dived behind a display table and upturned it, using it as a shield. Laura, who was the only one still stood outside, took a moment to think. She started covering the floor of the store with water. The man in the suit looked down at his feet, and then back at Laura. He turned his attention to Sam, not seeming to care his feet were getting wet. He was going in for another punch which the man in the suit went to block. He was knocked down to the ground into the water and let out a surprised shout. The water started creeping around the table towards David and he stood up, looking over the table over to Laura.

  "David! Shock him!" She shouted.

  David was about to unleash a blast of electricity when he stopped quickly and looked down. Sam and Amy were stood in the water along with himself. If he shocked this guy, he risked getting his friends. His hesitation cost him. The man in the suit got up and knocked Sam to the ground. He aimed his guns at Amy and started shooting. She, like David, dived behind a table and screamed in pain. David ran over to the man but was knocked back with a metal arm to the face. Laura ran inside to help. She attempted to use her new skill to throw icicles but instead, because she wasn't focusing, froze the water on the floor and went sliding into another display stand. The man in the suit took his chance and stomped out of the store, his heavy boots smashing the ice as he walked. He grabbed the bag and disappeared around the corner.

  Laura stood up and saw she had frozen the water around Sam and David, trapping their arms and legs to the floor. She breathed in and the ice turned back to water. She breathed out slowly and the water turned to steam and rose up and out through the vents on the ceiling. Sam and David got to their feet and ran to see Amy. She was on the floor, clutching at her shin. Blood was gushing out, a bullet had skimmed her, creating a long wound.

  David rubbed his forehead and took out his phone. He dialed DarkWatch and asked them to send help.

  "Again?" Mike Richards shouted at David, Laura and Sam, "Another one, just got away?"

  David looked down at the ground. Sam was leaning against the office wall. Laura, sat down on the chair in front of David, stood up, "Hang on, we did our best"

  "Well your best wasn't good enough was it?" Richards quickly retaliated.

  "Could you have done better?" Laura asked, she wasn't happy, "Could you, even with any of our powers, done better?"

  "Probably yes". Laura looked like she was about to launch into a huge argument, so Richards quickly followed on, "But I'm sure each of you individually could have done better. You're in a team. You have to act like a team. Not to mention you're all relying on your powers. I think only Mr. Crow here has any actual fighting skills"

  Sam nodded. Laura sat back down. He was right, none of them had communicated before the fight, exactly like before their encounter with Anthony. They had gone in with their own fighting style and their own plan. David took a seat next to Laura, "Could you help us?"

  Richards sighed and spoke in a softer tone, "Of course I can. As soon as Amy's back on her feet, we can start some training sessions, as I mentioned before"

  "Can we see her?" Laura asked.

  "Yes. But David, I'd like a word with you first"

  The other two left and Richards stood by the large window, overlooking the fields around the building. Once he heard the door close he started talking, "David. I want you to take charge of the others"

  "Take charge how?" David asked, puzzled.

  "Your current job, you're a manger yes?" Richards asked as he turned to face him.

  David nodded, "Yes. With all this time I keep having off, probably not for long though"

  "Don't worry about that. I'll pay you more than they do. But yes, you have more managerial skills than the others. Amy's a student, Sam has experience working in a call center and Laura just in retail. I want you to be the one leading the charge"

  David agreed. He didn't think the others might react so well. He asked Richards about their training.

  "I'll get you started with some simple fighting lessons, some exercise regimes and I’ll even provide you with any equipment you may need"

  "I'm not sure what you get out of this sir?" David asked.

  Richards sat at his desk and folded his hands flat on the desk, "I want to make sure this country stays safe from people like Anthony, and this man who stole our suit. You and the others are they key to that"

  "Couldn't you just assemble a team of your agents and take them down?"

  "Four people with special abilities couldn't take down the suit, what makes you think a squad of agents could? As for Anthony, he's up to something and I want to know what"

  There was a quiet knock on the door. A very young man with short curly hair walked in.

  "Ah Peter" Richards greeted him, "David this is Peter. He is going to be your liaison with DarkWatch. He will escort you on your missions"

  David took one look at the kid, "Peter, go wait outside please". Peter nodded and left the room.

  "The kid looks about sixteen!"

  "He's twenty and-"

  "I don't care how old he is, what we've faced so far isn't a walk in the park. It's dangerous"

  "David, I'm very limited in who I can assign you. Peter's had extensive training and been briefed on all your-"

  "Why assign us anyone at all?"

  "I want eyes out there with you. I want to support you. I'd rather you go with a team of agents but I know that isn't feasible. Instead I'll send you out with one agent, who will report back to me and keep you informed of any developments"

  "Fair enough, but someone who doesn't look like they'd run away if a spider ran at them"

  "Like I said, I don't exactly have Agents to spare"

  David thought for a moment, he had an idea.

  2.4

  Over following few weeks,
David, Amy, Laura and Sam stuck to the training programme set for them by DarkWatch. They could now hold their own against a team of agents and even better one on one. David had explained to them that he was in charge and, surprisingly, the others agreed it was for the best. They had hardly left the facility during their training. Sam had slept there, wanting to keep pushing himself, Amy had left just for her studies but had come straight back. Laura had taken the training very seriously as none of her powers were really offensive, she needed the fighting skills to back her up.

  During their training they had developed their powers further too, learning new skills to use in a fight.

  One day, during a session, an agent walked into the firing range. Amy was currently setting a mannequin on fire and the others were watching. He caught the teams attention with a cough. They turned and walked over.

  "Hey, my names Benjamin. The boss thinks it might be a good idea, since you're all spending so much time here, if I gave you a full tour of this place" He looked young, but no younger than Amy. He sweeper his mousy brown hair out of the way of his small glasses as he pulled out a phone from his pocket. He quickly tapped it a few times and placed it back in his black jacket pocket.

  David shook his hand, "That would be great, I think Sam's had a look around, but I suppose we should have a proper introduction to the place"

  "Let's go then" Benjamin said cheerily and headed towards the door with the team following.

  They walked down the corridors, a few agents looked at them and muttered things to their each other.

  "They're talking about us" Laura muttered under her breath.

  "They're impressed Laura" Benjamin called back. She was shocked that he could hear her, "You don't meet someone with superpowers everyday"

  They came to a door with a CC printed on the frosted glass pane.

  "The call center I'm guessing?" David asked.